Corrective feedback and learner uptake in American ESL and Chinese EFL classrooms: A comparative study

ABSTRACT Instructional context plays a crucial role in the learning of a second/foreign language. The present study compared the occurrence of corrective feedback (CF) and learner uptake across two instructional contexts at the tertiary level: English as a second language (ESL) in the US and English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. Analysis of 36 h of observation data showed that (1) recast was the most preferred feedback type in both settings, but with a much higher percentage in the EFL lessons than in the ESL lessons; (2) the distribution of CF was similar in terms of emphasis but was significantly different in terms of linguistic focus; and (3) the overall frequencies of uptake and repair were close between the two settings, but the rates of uptake and repair following explicit correction were significantly higher in the EFL lessons than in the ESL lessons. These findings suggest that although teacher-student interactions across ESL and EFL settings demonstrate a common trend, CF and uptake are not context-free.